Questioning Cruelty
by phantomxofxmystery
Summary: After Toguro's students had been killed by Kairin, he doesn't take on anyone else until he meets her. This is how they meet. Oneshot OC x Oto Toguro. No, this is not a pairing.


**A/N:** This is the prequel to "Reunion", the story that is written out entirely, just not posted... I wanted to explore the dynamics of Oto Toguro's relationship with Saiyuki. For those of you who have read "Reunion," this may clear up some confusion as to how they met specifically (just in case you were wondering). I'm not sure if Oto is OOC (or Karasu in "Reunion" for that matter, haven't seen the show for quite some time). If they are, please know that it was done as an exploration of other sides of their personalities. Anyhow... Without further ado, please read further and I hope you enjoy! Reviews are more than welcome and critique is valued. Thank you to those of you who have read and reviewed and/or put up alerts for "Reunion", I really appreciate it. :)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho in any way. I am not making any profit from the creation of this fanfic, it is merely written for the readers' enjoyment.

"You know that you're not as cruel as you'd like to think." Toguro faltered at the sound of his student's soft voice. "Oh?" He questioned as he turned to face her. "What makes you say that? You know that I've taken countless lives, I've tortured many others." The young fire demon hybrid before him shook her head. "That isn't my point," she told him, pinning him with a glare. "Despite all of that, there is kindness in you. You just won't acknowledge that it's there."

"You don't know much about me, do you?" He scoffed, the bitterness in his voice directed more at himself than her words. The girl stepped closer to him. He could easily read the will to challenge his statement but he brushed it aside. "You took me in when you didn't have to. You could have just as easily left me to the men of that place. Or you could have had me when Tarukane offered me to you. You didn't. You even prevented your brother from putting his hands on me when you wouldn't."

_She shakily pushed herself up from the cold, hard stone floor of her room as the two human guards left with her tear gems. She carefully pressed at the tender skin below her clavicle and winced. There would be bruises but thankfully, no broken bones. Reminding herself that she would need to see her sister for a healing session later, she stood up, setting about the business of pulling herself together before anything else could happen._

_She felt around for her clothes and groaned in dismay at the sight of torn pants. "Dammit," she cursed softly as she pulled her thin shirt over her slender shoulders, crossed the folds of cloth left over right and belted it with the worn satin sash. Much to her relief, the shirt was long enough to serve as a dress, though it was much too short for her liking as the hem barely fell past the top of her thighs._

_As she finished pulling on her panties she was startled by her door being thrown open. "Well Toguro, what do you think of her?" She found herself being scrutinized by not one set of male eyes, but two. Tarukane had brought the men he'd hired with him. The taller man appeared disgusted. With what, she couldn't tell. She stared nervously and reached for something, anything to hide her shameful state. She flushed furiously and held her ruined pants in front of her exposed legs._

_She gasped as two elastic appendages reached out and ripped her pants from her grasp. "There's no need to hide what we've already seen," the smaller man commented with an eerie chuckle. She glared and adopted a defensive stance as the smaller man hopped off of the taller demon's shoulder. "My my, such a pretty little thing," he appraised with an appreciative smirk. "Is this the one Mr. Tarukane?" The grotesquely ugly human nodded. "Yeah, that's her. She's all yours if you want her. Just a word of warning: that girl's probably so loose you could fit a table in her." Tarukane turned his back and walked away with a laugh._

"_Mmm…Been getting around have you?" The smaller man questioned as he slowly advanced on her. She backed away as fear washed over her. She knew what Tarukane's words meant. These men were left with her to do whatever they pleased. No one was around to stop them; not that anyone would. "Brother, stop." The larger demon reached out to intervene in the smaller man's advances. _

"_But brother, this girl was given to us. Shouldn't we enjoy her while we can?" The shorter man turned his attention away from her to his brother. "No. I'm not interested in a frightened child." With that, he turned his back to her and opened the door. "We've got a job to do. There's no time to be playing around." The smaller brother grumbled something under his breath and hopped back onto his brother's shoulder. Both men left, allowing her to be in peace._

He raised an eyebrow.

"How do you know my motives were purely unselfish? How can you be certain I wouldn't have had you? You know that if I tried you wouldn't be able to stop me." His chilling tone forced her to back up as she winced at the memories threatening to resurface. She recollected herself with a cleansing breath and straightened, fixing him with steady eyes. "I know you wouldn't have because I could see the disgust on your face when he led you to me. You saw the state I was in and you refused. Why?"

Toguro remained silent as he studied his younger student. "That day I saw a scared young girl who was about to be forced into something that no one should experience," the gravelly baritone that rumbled from within his chest responded. "You are still very much a child," he told her. "For what he was offering me, I was not willing to take it because I knew you would not acquiesce."

"As you can see, this is why I respect you. You didn't do what the others had done. It taught me that I can trust you to not hurt me. That's why I accepted your offer when you took me in." Toguro nodded, digesting her words. "That is also why I say you are not as cruel as you would like to portray yourself as." He snorted and placed his hand on her head. Even though she would normally have backed away from any others touch, his did not frighten her.

With his hand cradling the back of her head, he pulled her against him in something resembling a half embrace—this was the only form of affection he showed her; he did so when no one else was around to question it. Saiyuki gave a smile and wrapped her arms around his broad torso. She felt his body stiffen beneath her touch for just a moment before relaxing. Even though he had only been in her life for a short period of time, he had quickly become the closest thing to a father she had ever had.

Owari


End file.
